PS: Please critique...THANKS!

[kevin.morrison]

Hey everyone, I would greatly appreciate if people took a look and critiqued my personal statement. I have never been an exceptional writer so feel free to let me have it. haha. Thank you very much for taking the time :)

 

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I will never forget the moment I realized that nothing was more important in my career than becoming a physician assistant. I was sitting in a hospital room, next my grandfather, listening to heartbreaking news being delivered with the softest of words. My grandfather, who I had taken care of over the past year and grown to love more and more with every day and every challenge, was not going to be able to recognize me when he sees me or decipher my words when I speak to him. The only comfort in that moment I shared with my broken mother and my ill grandfather was the reassurance and hope that my grandfather’s PA was able to bring my family. In those two months that I had lost my fiancé’s grandfather and my own, I had met over a dozen doctors and heard terrible news over and over; however what I remember from this time is how this PA showed that she not only cared for my grandfather’s condition but truly cared for him as a human being and my entire family. This was August of 2010.

 

For nearly all my childhood and into my early college career, the only thing that mattered to me was athletics. Coming from a family of nine, and being the youngest, I quickly built an extremely competitive nature, which I translated to athletics. Throughout grade school and even into high school, I was the captain of every team I played on, from soccer to basketball to baseball. Despite my father being a doctor and my oldest sister following in his footsteps, I was encouraged to pursue my passion for sports and was never pushed toward a career in medicine. Little did I know, and without my father’s help, medicine would become a part of me even before I graduated high school.

 

It was March of my senior year and I was working in the Dominican Republic rebuilding a church and working in a local middle school. I spent one night, during my trip, with a pitcher (Victor) from the local baseball team who introduced me to his life style and forever opened my eyes to what truly needing something meant. Victor’s neighborhood was ravished with mal nutritious kids no older than 3-4 years old and adults with relatively common conditions that become completely debilitating due to a lack of medical care in his area. This night in a small village in the Dominican Republic revealed to me that there was more to this world than sports and that I have been blessed with gifts and abilities that should be focused on the something more, rather than on myself.

 

At this point in my life, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in health care, but was not entirely sure where that would lead me. I continued to play two years of baseball at the collegiate level, winning a Pennsylvania state championship my freshmen year, before deciding to pursue a degree in Athletic Training from Temple University. It was here at Temple University where I truly feel in love with the medical field. In my first year in the program, I was introduced to evidence based medicine and have grown to understand and admire the importance of this approach to medicine and have recently submitted a grant application to carry out my own research at Temple. Furthermore, my clinical work with the Temple football team has pushed my boundaries as a professional and given me the opportunity to sharpen my skills. Additionally, my approach to the athletes has lead me to comprehend the value of not just treating a patient’s chief complaint but treating them in the entirety and truly making them important as a person. I have grown in professionalism, maturity and knowledge during my time at Temple but it was here where I realized that I was limiting my potential in the medical field. I realized that I had pursued athletic training for my own enjoyment but my heart was no longer for myself, it was for those who need, not just medicine, but a health care provider that truly cared.

 

I then set out to find exactly I wanted to do in the medical field. I spent time with physical therapists, occupational therapists, doctors and then finally a physician assistant. During my time shadowing and talking with this physician assistant in the ER, I realized that she had the perfect job; she was able to practice medicine without many of the added distraction to the point where she was actually able to build a relationship with her patients. After this experience, I spent much of my time researching the career of a PA to make sure it sincerely matched who I was. It did not take me long to realize that my journey that began with my trip to the Dominican Republic, continued on to my time playing baseball and up until my experience at Temple, all lead to the calling to be a Physician Assistant.

 

It wasn’t much longer after I made this initial realization that I found myself in the hospital with my grandfather on a weekly basis. It was then, in August of 2010, in a room at Abington Memorial Hospital with my mother, my ill grandfather and this Physician Assistant that I decided nothing was more important in my career than being a PA. Since that time I have dedicated a majority of my free time from school to better myself and get me closer to being a PA. Whether that is working my school schedule to insure I have the classes I need or taking an accelerated EMT class over the summer to gain more experience, I have had my full heart and devotion to this calling.

 

I know, not only what I want to be, but also WHO I want to be and nothing will stop me from reaching my goal. I am fully dedicated to being the preeminent physician assistant I can be, not only for me but for my future patients who deserve a medical professional who cares about them and their health as much as they do.

[kevin.morrison]

Hey everyone, I would greatly appreciate if people took a look and critiqued my personal statement. I have never been an exceptional writer so feel free to let me have it. haha. Thank you very much for taking the time :)

 

-------

 

I will never forget the moment I realized that nothing was more important in my career than becoming a physician assistant. I was sitting in a hospital room, next my grandfather, listening to heartbreaking news being delivered with the softest of words. My grandfather, who I had taken care of over the past year and grown to love more and more with every day and every challenge, was not going to be able to recognize me when he sees me or decipher my words when I speak to him. The only comfort in that moment I shared with my broken mother and my ill grandfather was the reassurance and hope that my grandfather’s PA was able to bring my family. In those two months that I had lost my fiancé’s grandfather and my own, I had met over a dozen doctors and heard terrible news over and over; however what I remember from this time is how this PA showed that she not only cared for my grandfather’s condition but truly cared for him as a human being and my entire family. This was August of 2010.

 

For nearly all my childhood and into my early college career, the only thing that mattered to me was athletics. Coming from a family of nine, and being the youngest, I quickly built an extremely competitive nature, which I translated to athletics. Throughout grade school and even into high school, I was the captain of every team I played on, from soccer to basketball to baseball. Despite my father being a doctor and my oldest sister following in his footsteps, I was encouraged to pursue my passion for sports and was never pushed toward a career in medicine. Little did I know, and without my father’s help, medicine would become a part of me even before I graduated high school.

 

It was March of my senior year and I was working in the Dominican Republic rebuilding a church and working in a local middle school. I spent one night, during my trip, with a pitcher (Victor) from the local baseball team who introduced me to his life style and forever opened my eyes to what truly needing something meant. Victor’s neighborhood was ravished with mal nutritious kids no older than 3-4 years old and adults with relatively common conditions that become completely debilitating due to a lack of medical care in his area. This night in a small village in the Dominican Republic revealed to me that there was more to this world than sports and that I have been blessed with gifts and abilities that should be focused on the something more, rather than on myself.

 

At this point in my life, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in health care, but was not entirely sure where that would lead me. I continued to play two years of baseball at the collegiate level, winning a Pennsylvania state championship my freshmen year, before deciding to pursue a degree in Athletic Training from Temple University. It was here at Temple University where I truly feel in love with the medical field. In my first year in the program, I was introduced to evidence based medicine and have grown to understand and admire the importance of this approach to medicine and have recently submitted a grant application to carry out my own research at Temple. Furthermore, my clinical work with the Temple football team has pushed my boundaries as a professional and given me the opportunity to sharpen my skills. Additionally, my approach to the athletes has lead me to comprehend the value of not just treating a patient’s chief complaint but treating them in the entirety and truly making them important as a person. I have grown in professionalism, maturity and knowledge during my time at Temple but it was here where I realized that I was limiting my potential in the medical field. I realized that I had pursued athletic training for my own enjoyment but my heart was no longer for myself, it was for those who need, not just medicine, but a health care provider that truly cared.

 

I then set out to find exactly I wanted to do in the medical field. I spent time with physical therapists, occupational therapists, doctors and then finally a physician assistant. During my time shadowing and talking with this physician assistant in the ER, I realized that she had the perfect job; she was able to practice medicine without many of the added distraction to the point where she was actually able to build a relationship with her patients. After this experience, I spent much of my time researching the career of a PA to make sure it sincerely matched who I was. It did not take me long to realize that my journey that began with my trip to the Dominican Republic, continued on to my time playing baseball and up until my experience at Temple, all lead to the calling to be a Physician Assistant.

 

It wasn’t much longer after I made this initial realization that I found myself in the hospital with my grandfather on a weekly basis. It was then, in August of 2010, in a room at Abington Memorial Hospital with my mother, my ill grandfather and this Physician Assistant that I decided nothing was more important in my career than being a PA. Since that time I have dedicated a majority of my free time from school to better myself and get me closer to being a PA. Whether that is working my school schedule to insure I have the classes I need or taking an accelerated EMT class over the summer to gain more experience, I have had my full heart and devotion to this calling.

 

I know, not only what I want to be, but also WHO I want to be and nothing will stop me from reaching my goal. I am fully dedicated to being the preeminent physician assistant I can be, not only for me but for my future patients who deserve a medical professional who cares about them and their health as much as they do.